Students pass through the Coats Campus Center at Central Oregon Community College in Bend in November 2019. 

Enrollment is set to rise 21% this year at Central Oregon Community College, with 4,452 students expected to take classes starting Sept. 25, both in courses for credit and not for credit across the institution’s four campuses, according to a press release Tuesday.

COCC has seen a drop in enrollment every year for over a decade until this year, according to college data. The Madras and Prineville campuses both opened in 2011, the last year the college experienced increased enrollment.

Community colleges in Oregon have been seeing enrollment decline since the 2009-10 school year, state data shows.

The rapid jump is encouraging, said Tyler Hayes, the college’s registrar and director of admissions. In general, community college enrollment is now rising on a national scale, he said.

This year, the Madras campus should see a jump of more than 80% in the number of students enrolled, in part due to the new nursing, medical assistant, nursing assistant and early childhood education academic programs that will be offered once the campus expansion is complete in 2025. Students are signing up for prerequisites to those courses, said Hayes.

The Redmond campus expects an increase of nearly 15% in student enrollment, while the Bend campus should see a 16% rise and the Prineville campus a decrease by 10%. Online enrollment is up 7%, said Jennifer Kovitz, the college’s director of marketing and public relations.

“I’d say there’s three pretty key factors (contributing to growth at COCC), one being generally more flexibility for students,” said Hayes. “Now we have a lot of opportunities and options for students in terms of how they want to take their courses at COCC.”

Hayes said students being able to participate on campus outside of the classroom is also helpful.

The college’s expansion and growth through new and upcoming programs is another reason for the increase in enrollment, he said.

“Affordability, I think, is obviously a factor in this, when it comes just to the value of community college in general, and you know, the fact that COCC is one of the most affordable options in the state of Oregon…I think students are understanding the value of the community college,” said Hayes.

The buzz of a new term

New student applications, which include transfer students, current high school students, and those returning after an absence, saw an increase of slightly more than 13% this year.

“The energy starting a fall term is just always so positive, and it’s fun to get students back on campus,” said Hayes. “Feeling that positive enrollment growth, and the energy that that brings, is exciting for this campus.”

Hayes believed enrollment numbers will rise above the drops seen during the pandemic.

“Any sort of point-in-time comparison is challenging on that level, but looking at our numbers right now, I anticipate that our credited FTE (full-time equivalent) and headcount will get really close to those fall 2019 numbers,” said Hayes. “That’s estimating, but I think we’re going to get really close to those pre-pandemic numbers, which is really encouraging.”

More college coverage

Central Oregon Community College offers new one-year community health certificate

OSU-Cascades Makerspace open to community projects

Move-in day at Wickiup Hall is Thursday. The 320-bed residence hall will be nearly full this year with 306 students.